Article Summary
This article explores how procurement frameworks are shifting from compliance-focused tools to strategic platforms that support better estates outcomes. With insight from contributor Alan Matchett, Supplier Development Manager at Bloom Procurement Services, it highlights how frameworks like NEPRO³ now emphasise supplier capability, collaboration and alignment with NHS priorities - helping Trusts deliver more efficient, future-ready clinical environments.
A New Conversation About Procurement
In the evolving landscape of healthcare estates, NHS procurement frameworks have long been viewed as compliance-led mechanisms: essential for governance, but often rigid and transactional in practice. Increasingly, however, that perception is beginning to shift. Frameworks such as NEPRO³, delivered by Bloom Procurement Services, are now being used not simply as routes to market, but as platforms that can support collaboration, capability-building and closer strategic alignment.
For NHS Trusts navigating complex capital programmes alongside mounting operational pressure, this evolution is significant. When procurement is aligned with long-term organisational goals, it has the potential to act as an enabler of better estates outcomes, rather than a constraint on ambition.
Why Frameworks Are Evolving
Procurement frameworks were originally designed to ensure governance, probity and cost control. These priorities remain essential, but the environment in which they operate has changed considerably. NHS organisations increasingly require access to multidisciplinary expertise, flexible delivery models and suppliers capable of working across complex transformation programmes. NEPRO³ reflects this shift by placing greater emphasis on supplier capability and delivery maturity rather than simple availability. Rather than operating as a static directory, Bloom takes a more active role in supporting how suppliers engage with the public sector and how effectively they operate within the framework. As Alan Matchett of Bloom explains,
Too many frameworks treat suppliers as passive listings in a catalogue. Our approach is to focus on developing supplier capability and supporting organisations to make effective use of their framework, rather than simply providing access.
This reflects a wider recognition that the outcomes achieved through a framework are shaped not only by its structure but by how suppliers and clients work within it. When suppliers have a clearer understanding of NHS priorities, delivery expectations and system constraints, Trusts are better positioned to access expertise that can support programme delivery and reduce risk.
Speed, Certainty and Estates Challenge
Alongside capability and collaboration, speed and certainty have become increasingly important factors for NHS estates teams working under sustained pressure. Indicative comparisons show that framework call-offs such as NEPRO³ typically complete within 4-8 weeks from requirement definition to contract award, depending on scope and whether a direct award or mini-competition is used. By contrast, traditional open tender routes usually take 4-6 months, and can extend further for complex estates or capital projects due to the full competitive process and statutory standstill periods.
While timelines will always vary based on scope, value and internal approvals, the difference in pace is significant. For Trusts managing urgent infrastructure needs, ageing assets and time-sensitive clinical priorities, the ability to mobilise expertise quickly can materially affect delivery risk, cost escalation and programme momentum. This need for pace sits against a stark national backdrop. The NHS estates maintenance backlog in England is widely estimated at around £15bn based on recent ERIC releases, with a substantial proportion categorised as high or significant risk. Although capital allocations have increased in recent years, sector analysis suggests investment remains below the level required to address the scale of backlog pressures, particularly across older acute hospital estates.
In this environment, procurement frameworks that reduce friction and enable earlier engagement with capable suppliers are increasingly viewed as practical tools for protecting delivery and maximising the impact of limited capital investment.
From Compliance to Collaboration
The operational and financial pressures facing the NHS mean fragmented project pathways are no longer sustainable. Estates teams require partners who understand the interdependencies between clinical priorities, digital transformation and capital planning, and who can work across those interfaces in practice. Frameworks like NEPRO³ are beginning to support this shift by enabling more collaborative, relationship-driven engagement between Trusts and suppliers. One example of how this can work in practice is provided by Health Spaces. As a supplier on the framework, the organisation offers an integrated model that brings together estates strategy, planning, validation and delivery.
This approach is particularly relevant for Trusts managing large-scale capital programmes, where fragmented delivery models can introduce delay and cost risk. As Matchett notes, suppliers with specialist estates expertise are most effective when they are able to support programmes end-to-end, rather than operating solely at the front end of projects. This integrated approach can help Trusts move more effectively from concept to completion, while maintaining alignment with clinical and operational priorities.
The Estates Impact: Efficiency, Experience and Clinical Outcomes
The physical estate is one of healthcare’s most powerful strategic assets. When buildings are outdated or poorly configured, they can slow clinical workflows, increase operating costs and undermine both patient and staff experience. Conversely, well-planned and well-delivered estates can support more efficient care pathways, enable modern models of care and contribute to long-term sustainability goals. Accessing suppliers through frameworks that prioritise capability and collaboration allows Trusts to take a more strategic approach to estates development. This includes designing environments that support streamlined patient journeys, improved staff efficiency, digital integration and the delivery of care closer to communities. Bloom’s supplier development model reinforces this by focusing on long-term value rather than short-term transactions. By supporting suppliers to engage more effectively with NHS organisations, frameworks can help ensure that individual projects contribute to wider organisational improvement.
A Framework Built on Relationship-Driven Procurement
One of the defining features of Bloom’s approach is its emphasis on relationship-building. With over 6,000 suppliers operating across NEPRO³, the framework could easily operate as a passive marketplace. Instead, it places emphasis on supplier engagement and capability development.
This benefits both sides of the procurement relationship. Suppliers are better equipped to demonstrate relevance and value, while Trusts gain access to partners who are committed to understanding their context and objectives. As Matchett notes:
The future of public procurement frameworks isn’t about the longest supplier list. It’s about cultivating partnerships with organisations that bring genuine capability and insight. When that happens, buyers get better outcomes and suppliers can engage more meaningfully.
The result is a procurement ecosystem that prioritises outcomes over outputs, a shift that is increasingly essential for healthcare organisations facing unprecedented challenges.
Procurement as an Enabler of Transformation
As the demands on healthcare estates continue to intensify, procurement frameworks will become increasingly influential in determining how effectively organisations can deliver their strategic priorities. Compliance will always be fundamental, but the frameworks with the greatest impact are likely to be those that empower innovation, collaboration and adaptability. NEPRO³ provides one example of how procurement can be structured to support transformation rather than restrict it. For NHS leaders, the opportunity lies in recognising that frameworks can now operate as mechanisms for strategic alignment and delivery, rather than purely as government tools.
Healthcare estates strategy is entering a new phase, one in which procurement frameworks hold far greater potential than traditional compliance-led models allowed. Approaches that emphasise supplier capability, partnership and collaboration can help support progress across efficiency, sustainability and patient experience, enabling the estate to fulfil its role as a driver of clinical and organisational performance.
